In the Years When I Was a Father

Chapter 52: Strict Father in Ancient Times (9)

Once Qi Sheng’s new policies were announced, not only were the people of Ningzhou excited, but even beyond Liuyun Stronghold, people in various other strongholds began to be tempted. After all, earning a living honestly in broad daylight was far better than staying in the mountains, waiting around with nothing to eat but the northwest wind.

Many were especially thrilled when they realized that the roads to be built would pass by their own towns or villages. Getting roads built near their homes while being paid and fed for the work? That was definitely a deal worth grabbing!

After the two policies were issued, the county office saw a constant stream of people coming to register for work. In fact, so many people showed up that they overlooked Qi Sheng’s second order. But Qi Sheng wasn’t in a hurry. He knew that once the excitement wore off, people would recall the second part of his plan.

A clerk in charge of the household department watched Qi Sheng spending so much money and couldn’t help but offer some advice with a pained expression: “My Lord, the treasury only has this much silver left. If it’s all spent on road construction now, and we need money again later, things will get very difficult.”

Currently in Ningzhou, when it came time to collect taxes, many commoners would hide in the mountains. Very little tax grain could be collected. The silver they had now was only available because of the recent crackdown on corrupt officials and unscrupulous merchants. But how many more wealthy criminals were left in Ningzhou for them to seize from?

Qi Sheng waved it off, clearly unconcerned. “We’ll always find ways to earn silver. But if we keep staying trapped in these mountains, we’ll starve sooner or later.”

Seeing that they couldn’t talk Qi Sheng out of it, the household department had no choice but to carry out their duties obediently.

Qi Sheng then went to the prison and was quite satisfied to see all the prisoners quietly weaving bamboo baskets. Even the once-rowdy second and third leaders of Qingmu Stronghold, who had shouted threats when they first arrived, were now absorbed in weaving bamboo strips. It wasn’t until Qi Sheng stood watching for a while that they even noticed him.

When they realized it was Qi Sheng, they snorted and turned their backs, continuing to work silently, showing no interest in talking to him.

Qi Sheng chuckled quietly. As long as they were willing to work, he didn’t care. With so many people to feed, they shouldn’t expect to enjoy free prison meals without contributing! The road construction project was about to begin, and these bamboo baskets would come in handy. Later, when it came time to purchase mountain goods and medicinal herbs, they would also be extremely useful. With these laborers, he could save a lot on wages. Qi Sheng left with a satisfied grin, looking every bit the cunning businessman.

The roadwork officially began, and to reassure the workers, Qi Sheng arranged for wages to be paid every ten days. Though each worker was already provided with two solid meals a day, the people of Ningzhou had long been wary after years of being exploited by corrupt officials and merchants. They feared the bulk of their wages would be withheld using some excuse. It wasn’t until they received their pay that they finally let down their guard.

One man who got paid immediately ran to a nearby salt shop, planning to buy some salt. But after asking the price, he couldn’t help but widen his eyes in surprise. “Is it really this cheap? Only 100 wen per jin?!”

The shop assistant rolled his eyes inwardly but patiently replied, “Yes, our salt prices have long been adjusted to match those in Xuzhou and Yanzhou. Would you like to buy some, sir?”

The man exclaimed excitedly, “Yes, yes! Give me half a jin—no, a whole jin!”

Cradling the salt the assistant had weighed out for him and looking at the money still left in his hand, the man happily walked back home.

There were many others like him. Once they heard about the new salt prices, they all rushed to stock up. The salt shops saw a surge in sales, though the shopkeepers didn’t seem particularly pleased.

Previously, one jin of salt cost 300 wen—three to four times more expensive than outside regions. Most of the hard-earned monthly wages of Ningzhou’s people went straight into the pockets of the salt merchants. But back then, the salt officials were powerful, and the common folk had no way to seek justice, living bitter and difficult lives.

After the previous Ningzhou official was investigated, the new salt merchants who took over were unwilling to let go of such easy profits. Though they made a show of reducing prices a bit, with no one in Ningzhou truly in charge, salt still cost 100 to 200 wen per jin.

After learning the details, Qi Sheng had a very “cordial” negotiation with the local salt merchants. Not wanting to push them too hard, he eventually set the salt price at 100 wen per jin, in line with surrounding regions like Xuzhou and Yanzhou. Compared to the normal price of 50 to 60 wen per jin, this was still a hefty profit for the Ningzhou salt merchants.

Qi Sheng knew very well that salt merchants had deep roots. Until he could completely restructure the entire system, it was best to let them have some room.

Still, the current salt prices were enough to make Ningzhou’s people rejoice. Those who had bought salt with their wages all praised Qi Sheng as a true official who acted for the people’s benefit.

As Qi Sheng’s image was established in the hearts of the people, more and more began to recall the other policy he had announced—trading mountain goods and medicinal herbs for rice!

At first, the people feared that the herbs and wild goods they worked so hard to collect would only fetch them a small amount of rice. But now, after experiencing the real benefits of Qi Sheng’s policies, some families struggling to get by began to feel tempted.

At the foot of Baijia Village’s mountain lived a former hunter who now walked with a limp. He looked at the dried goods he’d painstakingly gathered and, hearing the village talk, finally decided to sort out the best quality hickory nuts, chestnuts, and mushrooms.

His wife, no delicate flower herself, frowned. “Are you really going? I still can’t bring myself to believe those rumors.”

She’d inquired about the matter at least ten times since hearing about it but still didn’t trust the idea of trading their hard-earned dried goods for rice.

Their family lacked food and had no spare money for salt or oil. But if they took a whole basket of goods and only got a tiny bit of rice in return, it would all be for nothing. Her husband had worked so hard, even with a lame leg, to find those in the mountains!

The hunter himself wasn’t entirely convinced either, but thinking of the string of hungry children at home and his increasingly thin wife, he sighed. “It’s alright. I didn’t bring anything really valuable this time—just going to see how it goes. Even if we get a little rice, it’s worth it. Besides, if we don’t buy salt soon, we adults can hold on, but the kids won’t last.”

Thinking of the children, his wife didn’t object any further and instead silently prayed that this Lord Qi really was a good man.

After announcing the trade-in policy, Qi Sheng had arranged for Xiong San, who was knowledgeable about goods, to personally oversee the exchange. Unfortunately, not many people came at first. As Qi Sheng continued to handle official business, he pondered how to further stimulate the enthusiasm of Ningzhou’s people.

To the common folk, those mountain goods were nothing more than food substitutes. If they couldn’t afford rice, they still couldn’t afford oil, salt, soy sauce, or vinegar either. Qi Sheng thought it would be better if he organized the trade and helped them earn real silver in return.

Over the years, Qi Sheng had built connections with many merchants who admired his cleverness. Some even joked privately that if Lord Qi ever left his post and went into business, he could become the richest man alive. But that was just idle talk. After all, who would give up a prestigious government position to become a lowly merchant?

Still, many merchants who had worked with Qi Sheng held him in high regard. They were often looked down on by scholars and had little status in front of high-ranking officials. Very few genuinely respected them. Qi Sheng was one of those rare few—not only did he respect them, he truly valued their skills.

Courtesy demands reciprocity; whenever Qi Sheng needed help, these merchants would rush over without a second thought. It wasn’t just because they thought well of Qi Sheng, but because they clearly understood that any business led by him was guaranteed to make a profit.

Qi Sheng had already written to a batch of merchants to make contact, but he instructed them to set out two months before the New Year. Since it was only November now, there was still plenty of time to trade with the people of Ningzhou.

While he was mulling over business matters, he suddenly heard Xiong San excitedly running up to the study door. “Master, I have something to report!”

Qi Sheng raised an eyebrow. Could it be that someone had come to sell mountain goods?

“Come in,” he said.

Xiong San carefully carried several boxes inside. Forgetting even to bow properly, he said excitedly, “Master, these are all rare treasures! Look at this one—it’s a century-old wild ginseng!”

Qi Sheng was a little surprised. He took the boxes and opened them one by one to examine their contents.

“They really are excellent items!” he said.

Curious, Qi Sheng asked, “Where did these come from?”

Xiong San then recounted everything in detail. He added, “Following your instructions, when dealing with such valuable goods, I first gave the seller a deposit and wrote up a formal contract. We definitely won’t let him suffer any losses.”

Qi Sheng nodded in satisfaction. These precious medicinal herbs would certainly fetch a high price outside. However, Qi Sheng wasn’t a merchant—he wasn’t interested in flipping the goods for profit. As for ordinary mountain goods, the profits were modest and any extra silver could be used to help the common people. But with treasures like today’s find, it would be harder to explain if he profited privately. So he decided to act merely as an intermediary: he would pay the sellers a deposit first, and only after negotiating a final price with the buyers would the full payment be made to the sellers.

Carrying heavy silver on his back and holding the official document stamped with a red seal in his hand, the hunter was all smiles. His steps were so light it was easy to forget he had a crippled leg.

Taking a small path home, the hunter shut his door tightly before entering the main room to speak with his wife.

His wife had been baffled from the start. Not long after he first left, he returned carrying a full basket of rice, flour, and other necessities, handed her a few taels of silver, and left again in a hurry with the treasured goods he had long hoarded.

Looking at the silver in her hand and the big sack of rice and flour on the table, the hunter’s wife had a guess. Yet she couldn’t help but be curious about how much silver her husband would bring home this time.

Having followed the hunter for many years, she had learned to recognize valuable items. That century-old ginseng, carefully stored away, was certainly worth a lot. If it weren’t for the apothecaries offering miserably low prices, they wouldn’t have clung to it even at the cost of starving. Deep down, the hunter’s wife knew that if a little more time had passed, they might not have been able to hold out anymore.

While the children were playing outside, the hunter lowered his voice deliberately and, hugging the bundle tightly like a treasure, asked his wife proudly, “Guess how much we got?”

Not having seen too much money before, his wife looked at the large bundle and guessed cautiously, “Could it be a hundred taels? No, wait—could it be two hundred taels?”

The hunter’s weathered face crinkled into a delighted grin. He opened the bundle excitedly and said, “It’s five hundred taels!”

His wife gasped and quickly covered her mouth. Her hands trembled as she touched the shining silver, so overwhelmed that she could hardly believe it. “Is it real? Our family… our family is finally going to have good days ahead!”

The hunter chuckled again and said, “That’s not all!”

Seeing his wife’s puzzled look, he explained quickly, “The official in charge of the transaction said that this five hundred taels is just an initial estimate—a deposit. If Master Qi can sell that ginseng at an even higher price, we’ll get a share of the extra profits too!”

The hunter’s wife widened her eyes in disbelief.

When the hunter first heard this, he too had been so excited he didn’t dare believe it, his serious face turning red with excitement. Even now, the thrill hadn’t faded.

“Here, this is the official document they gave me. Next time when they call for me to collect the rest of the money, I just need to bring this along.”

The hunter’s wife carefully wiped her hands and took the document. But since she was illiterate, she asked suspiciously, “Are you sure they’re not tricking you? You can’t even read.”

The hunter quickly pointed at the middle of the document, “See this? It’s Mr. Guo’s signature and fingerprint. I’ve met Mr. Guo before—there’s no mistake. He even read the document out loud to me!”

His wife eagerly asked, “This Mr. Guo—you mean the scholar Mr. Guo from Baiyu Academy?”

The hunter nodded, “That’s right. Master Qi specially invited Mr. Guo to act as the witness. There’s no way it’s fake!”

Only then did the hunter’s wife dare to believe it. Carefully folding the document, she said excitedly, “I must store this properly. This is a fortune!”

After nervously searching the house for a long time, she finally found a safe place to hide the document. Staring at the silver on the table, the hunter’s wife felt her heart could barely take the joy.

“Husband, what should we do with this money?” she asked.

The hunter sat down boldly, looking firmly at the piles of shining silver. “Buy land and build a new house! I’ve been a hunter half my life. I even lost a leg. I can’t let our children live such dangerous lives anymore. Once we have land, we’ll never have to worry about feeding them again!”

Hearing this, the hunter’s wife couldn’t hold back her tears. The harder their past days had been, the sweeter this moment felt. They had thought they couldn’t endure much longer, and yet, now they had hope beyond imagining.

“Master Qi is truly a good man, a living Bodhisattva saving those in need!” she said with heartfelt gratitude.

The hunter nodded vigorously, “Our Ningzhou has finally gotten a good official who can truly accomplish great things. Heaven bless him, and our ancestors too!”